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Obama aides are becoming exasperated by the Clinton camp’s pokey response to demands for former President Bill Clinton’s finances.
AP Photo

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is President-elect Barack Obama’s first choice for secretary of State but his aides are becoming exasperated by the Clinton camp’s pokey response to demands for extensive information about former President Bill Clinton’s finances, according to numerous Democrats involved in the process.

“The sense among the no-drama Obama world is: This is well on its way to winning best Oscar for drama,” said one well-connected Democratic official.

There are signs, however, that the Clintons may move decisively to satisfy the vetting requests in coming days, clearing the way for a “Team of Rivals” Cabinet that would bring the president-elect’s opponent for the Democratic nomination into his historic administration.

Democratic officials make it sound as if the job has been all but offered to Hillary Clinton. But the ball is in her court to show that the former president’s many foreign and financial entanglements would not pose huge conflicts of interest if she were the nation’s chief diplomat, the officials said.

Obama isn’t likely to formally offer the post to Clinton unless he’s given assurances that Bill Clinton’s global charitable foundation won’t create future conflicts of interest with foreign governments, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The Clinton Global Initiative has earned widespread plaudits for its efforts to eradicate AIDS, malaria and poverty in Africa.

But it could prove problematic for Obama if the former president continues to arrange donations from foreign countries at the same time that his wife, as secretary of state, is asking them for diplomatic concessions. The Clinton Global Initiative, which has raised more than $30 billion since 2005, has matched several foreign governments with projects, including a $1 billion pledge from Norway in 2007.

Obama’s vetting team expressed similar worries about Bill Clinton’s overseas fundraising when Hillary Clinton was briefly considered for the vice-presidency, former Clinton aides say.”

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"I doubt that they are looking for an excuse to pick someone else,” a neutral Democratic official said, “but rather are genuinely concerned that Bill Clinton’s work, while worthy, would be greatly complicating if she were SecState."

Over the weekend, Obama advisers began to get a little scratchy about the Clintons’ response to vetting requests.

“The ball is very much in her court, but the president's finances have been a major point of sensitivity from Day One,” the well-connected Democratic official explained. “Given that everyone's mystified by how deliberately public the Clintons have made this once-secret process, the assumption is either that the Clintons are trying to use the public buzz to steamroll their way in, create a sense of inevitability that overcomes those concerns, or that it's just a matter of time before they … satisfy vetting somehow, some way. Otherwise, after all this speculation, there’ll be a permanent dark cloud hanging over his finances.”

The former president was in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Kuwait City over the past four days and returned to the United States on Monday morning.

Friends outside government said it seems reasonable for a couple to want to talk about a life decision over the kitchen table rather than over a crackly cell connection 10 time zones away.

In Kuwait, the former president sure sounded like a man who wanted the job for his wife, so he might be expected to do what is necessary for her to earn Obama’s nod.

AFP quoted the former president as saying at an economic conference sponsored by the National Bank of Kuwait: “If he decided to ask her and they did it together, I think she'll be really great as a secretary of state. … She worked very hard for his election after the primary fight with him, and so did I, and we were very glad that he won and we have a lot of confidence that he can do a good job. But she didn't do what she did with the hope or expectation of getting any kind of job offer, much less having this discussed.”

Bill Clinton was Hillary's life preserver throughout her faux-career, until the '08 campaign, and beyond, when he's become her anchor - in a sinking sort-of-way. She would never have gotten where she is without him, but she may never get any farther, because of him.

Bill Clinton would be a great asset to Hillary if she becomes the Secretary of State. He will do what ever it takes to make her successful. I don?t see how his role became an issue at this point. Both the Clintons helped Obama to win the presidency. I would rather see her as the next Supreme Court judge rather than SoS. Kerry is a moron and he should not even be considered. We hear he is actively seeking the position. That is a good reason to ignore him.

It’s not clear why the foundation issue has emerged as a potential barrier just now

Wake up. It's simply a pretext NOT to offer her the job at State. Obama doesn't want those two anywhere near the White House anymore now than before. This way he can do a little dance to keep her supporters happy without any commitment to making her anything other than a Senator from New York.

I don't see what difference Bill or his foundation has to do with squat. We're just getting rid of the most corrupt and secretive Adminintion in history. Cheney with his corrupt Haliburton that have been robbing the taxpayer blind in Iraq. And the Bushes' have been in bed with the Bin Ladin family for years. And everyone wants to make a big deal about Bills' connection. What a CROCK OF BULL.!!!! WATCH OUT HERE COMES BILL!!! What a joke, his foundation has done very good works. I don't thing there has ever been any CHARITY from HALIBURTON, or BLACKWATER.. And as for Hillary, she would be great. Can't be any worse that Condie Rice, just what experience did she bring to the table???? NOTHING THAT'S WHAT!! .

I wish the media quit hyping up Hillary as Secretary of State. There are other people Obama is considering. It would be a letdown if he doesn't pick her so the media need to let this man do what he feels is best.

Besides,I'm sure he'll make the right choices because he has what's called a "vetting process". Anyone who doesn't know what that is probably voted for McCain.

I wish the media quit hyping up Hillary as Secretary of State. There are other people Obama is considering. It would be a letdown if he doesn't pick her so the media need to let this man do what he feels is best.

Besides,I'm sure he'll make the right choices because he has what's called a "vetting process". Anyone who doesn't know what that is probably voted for McCain.

LOL. Good post, wishbone. Personally, I think Hillary would be great as Secretary of State. If obama decides she is the best one for the job, he will pick her. As a long-time Obama supporter, I have faith in his judgment.

Bill Clinton, well known for his expertise in Domestic and Foreign affairs would be a big help to the Obama Nation. With Hillary's help in the State Department, Bill could open and close doors in places inaccessible to the White House or State Department.

Bill had excellent relations with a Canadian Member of Parliament and has ins at other countries as well.

I think this is a brilliant move on Obama's part. It cannot be good for the U.S. to have an ex-president running around raking in money from god-knows-whom for god-knows-what. Offering Hillary the SOS position does three things. First it acknowledges her very real abilities and gives her a platform to truly stand on her own--out of the shadow of her husband. Second, it forces any questionable activities of Bubba out into the open and reins him in more effectively than anything I can think of. Third, it gets Hillary out of the Senate where she could have been a real impediment. Caroline Kennedy for Senate.